Beneficiaries
Our beneficiaries are chosen from five categories including Health and Wellness, Culture, Community, Family and Education. Each has their own needs and through member contributions we are able to help them realize their potential.
2010 Beneficiaries
Community
Boys and Girls Club ($100,000 grant)
Nine year old Jada rides the bus home from school every day. She unlocks the door and hurries inside. She makes herself a peanut butter sandwich and sits down to do her homework, alone. She’d like to be at Boys & Girls Club, where she spends school breaks and summers during the day – but her mother would never let her walk the 1.4 miles to the club. She’d have to cross three major streets to get there.
Currently, children from 10 area schools arrive at the club on our vehicles, have a hot after-school snack, participate in homework assistance, exercise in the gym, or play in Memorial Park. Members participate in the Junior League’s Reading Club, create in the Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s Arts After School program, take part in Leadership Clubs like Torch Club, Keystone Club, Boy Scouts, Students Working Against Tobacco and more, or participate in Health & Life Skills classes.
A grant from the women of Impact Oklahoma will allow us to purchase two 30 passenger busses and serve an additional 10 schools – serving every school within a three mile radius of the Club.
You can help Jada “Get on the Bus.” She’ll have a safe, positive place to spend her out of school time where caring adults will offer guidance and mentoring. She’ll increase her levels of school effort, academic confidence, integrity and community involvement. She’ll decrease her likelihood to smoke marijuana, carry a weapon, drink alcohol, interact with the police or begin sexual activity.
Education
Faith Works of the Inner City ($100,000 Grant)
FaithWorks of the Inner City seeks to transform the future of one of the poorest and most violent communities in our state by empowering the community surrounding Shidler Elementary School with educational opportunities for three distinct groups: three year olds, teenagers, and parents. Understanding that our students begin school with significant disadvantages and the task of learning a second language (English), we will provide a jumpstart to learning for our three year olds with the implementation of preschool programs for mothers and children. With a dropout rate of 46% in the ninth grade and realizing that our teenagers are faced with potentially life-altering decisions each day, FaithWorks will provide a safe place for teens to gather life and work skills, experience enrichment opportunities, and receive tutorial assistance with homework. For our parents, many ranging in age from 16-21, we will offer educational tools to assist them in preparing their children for entry into public school, parenting techniques and communication skills, as well as individual and family counseling. Educational opportunities provided by local vocational schools will be offered to parents invested in these programs, as well as opportunities for future employment at the FaithWorks Center. The Tots to Teens program has the potential to impact over 2,500 families living in this community by decreasing the dropout rate, adding to the work force, and providing useful parenting tools. A new facility (the Impact Tots to Teen House) will open in the fall 2010 to host those programs.
Family
Britvil Community Food Pantry ($100,000 Grant)
Meet Dave…cancer ultimately took his life…we were his lifeline for food during his
final days.
Meet Mary…a diabetic who comes to us to help provide fruits and vegetables that she cannot afford for her diet.
Meet Joan…a single parent with four small children struggling to survive and needs desperately to feed her children.
Meet Jack…a senior citizen on a fixed income.
Have you met these people? They are just a few of the people you will meet on a daily basis at BritVil Food Pantry. Even though you haven’t met them, you can make a difference in their lives.
The $100,000 grant would enable us to purchase a much needed new refrigeration unit. This unit will preserve the quality of nutritional food that is important in fighting disease, illness, and building strong bodies.
Created in 1991, from the vision and dedication of two women, the pantry provides the nutritional food needs in a community where poverty is prevalent. We serve over 16,200 people a year and operate with only two part-time employees. We are grateful to have over 100 volunteers that help at the pantry.
We are blessed with an outstanding group of volunteers that know John 21:15 by heart, “If you truly love Me, you will feed My people”. Help us to continue making a difference in the community and the lives of our clients. As you prepare a meal for your family, think about the difference this grant can make in the lives of families less fortunate.